Furniture assembly

ABSTRACT

The frame of a piece of furniture consists of at least two interconnected components, each of which comprises an approximately U-shaped yoke extending in a plane and two extensions protruding from the yoke substantially at right angles to that plane.

United States Patent 1191 Wiberg 1111 3,827,751 1451 Aug. 6, 1974FURNITURE ASSEMBLY [76] Inventor: Ole Wiberg, Vesterbrogad'e 180,

Copenhagen, Denmark [22] Filed: Jan. 16, 1973 [2]] Appl. No.: 324,149

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 17, 1972 Austria A376/72[52] US. Cl 297/440, 248/l88.l, 248/165, 297/439, 297/456 [51] Int. ClA47c 4/02, A47c 7/02 [58] Field of Search 297/439-441,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,276,308 3/1942 Hugh297/440 2,618,316 11/1952 Way 297/440 2,724,428 11/1955 Sellner 297/4403,600,036 8/l97l lskander 297/445 3,635,528 1/1972 Strom 297/445 FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,345,985 11/1963 France .l 297/440 1,204,8981/1960 France 297/440 Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno [5 7] ABSTRACT The frame of a pieceof furniture consists of at least two interconnected components, each ofwhich comprises an approximately U-shaped yoke extending in a plane andtwo extensions protruding from the yoke substantially at right angles tothat plane.

11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures i, FURNITURE ASSEMBLY This inventionrelates to a piece of furniture which comprises a frame composed ofinterconnected com ponents consisting of tubes, rods, or the like. Suchpieces of furniture have the advantage that they can be made in arelatively simple manner and are nevertheless very stable.

It is an object of the invention to provide components which can beassembled to form a large number of dif ferent pieces of furniture.

In accordance with my present invention, this object is accomplished inthat at least two components comprise each an approximately U-shapedyoke provided with extensions integrally adjoining the free ends of thelegs of the yoke substantially at right angles to its plane. As will beshown hereinafter, such components can actually be used to assemblegreatly different pieces of furniture.

To provide a very stiff joint between two such components, I make theextensions of each yoke of different length so that joints between theextensions of interconnected yokes are relatively offset.

The large number of variations realizable with my improved constructionof pieces of furniture can be further increased if, according to afurther feature of the invention, the U-shaped yoke of one of twocomponents is higher than the U-shaped yoke of the other component. Thenumber of variations can be increased still further if one of twocomponents, preferably the higher one, has two extensions which areshorter than those of the other component and the difference in lengthbetween the two extensions of one component is equal to the differencein length between the two extensions of the other component.

The invention can be applied in a very simple manner to the formation ofa seat frame in which two components with vertical yokes of differentheight are joined so that their extensions abut and in which the talleryoke forms the backrest frame. To complement the seat, I prefer toprovide at least one additional component which extends transversely tothe component forming the seat frame. The transverse component orcomponents may also comprise tall yokes constituting armrest frames.

A seat frame embodying my invention may alternatively comprise twocomponents joined so that their extensions abut, and a coveringextending between the crosspieces or bight portions of their Ushapedyokes. To form an armrest frame, a component having a tall yoke may beprovided which extends transversely to the two components which carrythe covering.

The components embodying my invention may also be used to form pieces offurniture other than seats. For instance, a table frame may be formedwhich comprises four identical components interconnected in pairs witorthogonally abutting extenions.

The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing respective components of aframe structure according to my invention,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing diagrammatically a seat frame madefrom the components of FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is an elevation showing a seat incorporating the frame of FIG. 3and upholstery placed thereon;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic representations of other seat framesembodying my invention and FIG. 7 shows a table frame according to myinvention.

FIG. 1 shows a component 1 which is integrally bent from round-sectionstock to form a U-shaped yoke which extends in a vertical plane andcomprises two upright legs 3 and a crosspiece 4 at the bight of the U.Parallel horizontal extensions 5 and 6 protrude from the free lower endsof legs 3 substantially at right angles to the plane of the yoke.

The component 2 shown in FIG. 2 has also an upright U-shaped yoke, lowerthan the yoke of component 1, comprising two legs 7 and a crosspiece 8.Two extensions 9 and 10 protrude from the free lower ends of legs 7 atright angles to its plane extensions 9 and 10 are respectively shorterthan extensions 5 and 6. The same difference exists between the lengthsl and 1 of extensions 9 and 10 and between the lengths l and 1 ofextensions 9 and 10.

Practical experiments have shown that the following heights and lengthsare desirable: Height h of component 1 47 centimeters, height h ofcomponent 2 15 centimeters, length 1 is 67 centimeters, length 1 23centimeters, length 1 54.5 centimeters, length 1 10.5 centimeters,spacing of legs and of their exten sions 50 centimeters.

It is apparent from FIG. 3 that a seat frame can be formed in a verysimple manner by assembling a component l and a component 2. For thispurpose it is sufficient to join the two components so that theirextensions abut longitudinally. The joints may be formed, e.g., bysleeves fitted over the extensions, by connectors inserted into same, orin any other known manner which is suitable.

I have indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 3 that two additionalcomponents 1 may be provided which extend transversely to the twointerconnected components 1 and 2. The joint between the crossingextensions thereof can also be made in a very simple manner, e.g., withthreaded bolts extending through the crossing extensions, althoughdifferent types of joints may be used for this purpose too.

As is apparent from FIG. 4, the frame which is diagrammatically shown inFIG. 3 can be used to carry a seat cushion 11, a backrest cushion 12 andtwo armrest cushions 13. Alternatively, the seat and rest surfaces couldbe formed by a covering extending between the crosspieces 4 and 8 as inthe embodiments which will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5and 6.

According to FIG. 5, two components 2 are assembled so that theirextensions abut longitudinally and a component 1 extending transverselyto these components 2 forms a backrest frame. The seating surface may beformed by a covering 14, draped over the bight portions of components 2,on which a cushion can be placed. It will be noted that the legextensions of component l differ in length by a distance equal to thespacing of the extensions of the two other components 2 and thusterminate at mutually offset junctions with the longitudinallyinterconnected extensions of the lat ter components, all theseextensions lying in a common horizontal plane.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, one of the shallow components 2 ofFIG. 5 is replaced by a tall component 1 so that an armrest is providedon one side. A multiple seat may be formed, e.g., by a central frame U,62 7, 751 mung frames ofFlG. 6 at -mponent 1 being disposed be and onthe left in the .u. 3 can obviously also b nation.

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1. A structural frame for a piece of furniture, comprising: a firstcomponent including a generally U-shaped first yoke with a pair ofparallel first legs and a first bight portion interconnecting same in afirst plane, and a pair of first extensions integrally adjoining saidfirst legs at free ends thereof remote from said first bight portion andat right angles to said first plane; and a second component including agenerally U-shaped second yoke with a pair of parallel second legs and asecond bight portion interconnecting same in a second plane, and a pairof second extensions integrally adjoining said second legs at free endsthereof remote from said second bight portion and at right angles tosaid second plane; said first extensions differing in length andterminating at mutually offset junctions with said second extensions. 2.A structural frame as defined in claim 1 wherein said second extensionsdiffer in length to the same extent as said first extensions andlongitudinally abut the latter at said mutually offset junctions.
 3. Astructural frame as defined in claim 2 wherein said first and secondplanes are vertical, said first yoke being taller than said second yoke.4. A structural frame as defined in claim 1 wherein said firstextensions lie at right angles to said second extensions and differ inlength by the relative spacing of said second extensions.
 5. Astructural frame as defined in claim 4, further comprising a thirdcomponent including a generally U-shaped third yoke with a pair ofparallel third legs and a third bight portion interconnecting same in athird plane parallel to said second plane and perpendicular to saidfirst plane, and a pair of third extensions integrally adjoining saidthird legs at ends thereof remote from said third plane, said second andthird legs being mutually aligned and interconnected in orthogonallyadjoining relationship with said first extensions.
 6. A structural frameas defined in claim 5 wherein said first, second and third planes arevertical, said first, second and third extensions lying in a commonhorizontal plane.
 7. A structural frame as defined in claim 6 whereinsaid second and third components are of unequal height.
 8. A structuralframe as defined in claim 6, further comprising a covering draped oversaid second and third bight portions above said common horizontal plane.9. A structural frame as defined in claim 4, further comprising a thirdcomponent symmetrical to said first component and complementing same toa first pair, and a fourth component symmetrical to said secondcomponent and complementing same to a second pair, the extensions ofsaid first and third components being longitudinally aligned at rightangles to the longitudinally aligned extensions of said second andfourth components.
 10. A structural frame as defined in claim 9 whereinsaid first and second planes are vertical, the extensions of all saidcomponents lying in a common horizontal plane.
 11. A structural frame asdefined in claim 10 wherein the yokes of all said components are of thesame height and extend downwardly from said common horizontal plane toform a set of table legs.